AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES AND PEANUT ALLERGIES: BORROWED APPROACH

By René A. Azeez, Honours BSc. Developmental Biology, University of Toronto. July 18, 2011.

Arguably the man most synonymous with intelligence in the western world, Albert Einstein, said “The process of scientific discovery is, in effect, a continual flight from wonder”. In the process of inquisition scientists revisit questions, integrating novel approaches and fresh perspectives. In an article published in the journal Current Allergy and Asthma Reports entitled ‘Immunological Similarities between Selected Autoimmune Diseases and Peanut Allergy: Possible New Therapeutics Approach’, authors Michael A. Matucci and Stephen C. Dreskin decided to look at peanut allergies from the vantage point that tolerance to foods represents the normal state just as tolerance to self-proteins represents a normal state. Using this idea as the foundation to explore peanut allergies, they compared similar immunological abnormalities arising from both peanut allergies and several autoimmune diseases and suggest that understanding these similarities may lead to new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of several food allergies.

The authors stated that four ideas stimulated the article. The first idea is that patients who carry the peanut allergy exhibit elevated IgG; a type of antibody; levels compared to non-allergic control patients. This is also seen in patients with some autoimmune diseases. The second idea is that published works point to the fact that several links between autoimmunity and allergies. The third idea comes from the fact that research in both allergy and autoimmunity is focused on the regulation of T and B cells; the major cells of the adaptive immune response; by regulatory T cells. For the final inspirational idea the authors suggest that the “you are what you eat” proposal points to a greater similarity between food allergy and autoimmunity than is currently understood.

The authors used the example of autoimmune thyroidosis to highlight the similarity. Elevated IgG comparable to what is seen in patients with peanut allergies were seen in patients with autoimmune thyroidosis. It is currently thought that the disease is caused by abnormal suppressor T Cell function. The authors point out that while production of IgE; another immunoglobulin; is an absolute necessity in allergic diseases, IgG’s role is underappreciated.

Noticing the similarities, the authors decided to ask themselves whether current methods of treating autoimmune diseases, specifically immunomodulatory approaches, could be applicable to the treatment of peanut and ultimately other food allergies. They singled out Rituximab, an antibody initially developed to treat follicular lymphoma by targeting certain B-cells, as having potential for application to the treatment of food allergies. The drug has been shown useful in the treatment of several autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, and systemic lupus erythematosus. In their conclusion they stated that plasma cell directed therapies may become greater targeted and clinically more viable in the future. They expect that a role for B-cell targeted therapies may someday be used alone or in concert with other approaches for the treatment of severe food allergies.

REFERENCE:                                                                                                                                          

Martucci M. A., and Dreskin S. C. Immuno Immunological Similarities between Selected Autoimmune Diseases and Peanut Allergy: Possible New Therapeutics Approach.  . Current allergy Asthma Reports, 2011, 11: 334-339.